Abstract
We report a precision measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in the elastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons from . We measure parts per billion, leading to an extraction of the neutral weak form factor . Combined with our previous measurement, the extracted neutron skin thickness is . The result also yields the first significant direct measurement of the interior weak density of : leading to the interior baryon density . The measurement accurately constrains the density dependence of the symmetry energy of nuclear matter near saturation density, with implications for the size and composition of neutron stars.
- Received 22 February 2021
- Accepted 22 March 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.172502
© 2021 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
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Probing the Skin of a Lead Nucleus
Published 27 April 2021
Researchers make the most precise measurement yet of the neutron distribution in a heavy nucleus, with implications for the structure of neutron stars.
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